Static charge can result in extremely high voltages near an integrated circuit that can lead to the integrated circuit being subjected to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) event. When electrostatic energy is discharged, a high current can be produced through devices of the integrated circuit. For example, when a person carrying a static charge touches a pin of a package of the integrated circuit, a discharge of the static charge onto the integrated circuit can cause a high voltage and a high current to be generated to an input or output buffer of the integrated circuit. ESD is a serious problem for semiconductor devices since it has the potential to destroy the device and the entire integrated circuit.
ESD protection devices are generally integrated into integrated circuits. An ESD protection device can provide a current path so that when an ESD transient occurs, the ESD current is conducted through the ESD protection device without going through the devices being protected. High voltage N well (HVNW) devices are conventionally used in ESD protection devices, particularly for protecting high voltage semiconductor devices.